Govt slates PPP investment targets

The federal government will seek guidance on setting national targets for public-private infrastructure investment.

As part of its 15-year national plan the coalition will make a submission to a Productivity Commission inquiry into public infrastructure, assistant minister Jamie Briggs told a meeting of stakeholders in Sydney on Thursday.

"If we were to set economy-wide investment targets, this could deliver more certainty and, with it, a pipeline of projects," Mr Briggs said.

A public-private partnership benchmark would send a very clear message to the market that not only is there a project pipeline, but it's backed by financial certainty, he said.

The coalition has made it a priority to attract private sector investment and while it acknowledges the support of global banking and financial institutions, the government wants a broadened investment base.

"I would like to see greater involvement by our locally-based super funds which manage billions of dollars of Australians' retirement savings," Mr Briggs said.

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The Productivity Commission is due to release an initial issues paper on infrastructure financing options later on Thursday with a final report expected in May.

Meanwhile, the government continues to champion its idea of a tax incentive plan for states and territories which sell off public assets and put the money into new "economically-productive" infrastructure.

But the Electrical Trades Union said the move was a cash grab.

"Sure, a state government can pocket a one-off windfall through selling, but that would be wiped out within a decade once you take foregone income into account," union national secretary Allen Hicks said.